Comprehensive Management of ANOCA, Part 1-Definition, Patient Population, and Diagnosis: JACC State-of-the-Art Review.

Angina with nonobstructive coronary arteries (ANOCA) is increasingly recognized and may affect nearly one-half of patients undergoing invasive coronary angiography for suspected ischemic heart disease. This working diagnosis encompasses coronary microvascular dysfunction, microvascular and epicardial spasm, myocardial bridging, and other occult coronary abnormalities. Patients with ANOCA often face a high burden of symptoms and may experience repeated presentations to multiple medical providers before receiving a diagnosis. Given the challenges of establishing a diagnosis, patients with ANOCA frequently experience invalidation and recidivism, possibly leading to anxiety and depression. Advances in scientific knowledge and diagnostic testing now allow for routine evaluation of ANOCA noninvasively and in the cardiac catheterization laboratory with coronary function testing (CFT). CFT includes diagnostic coronary angiography, assessment of coronary flow reserve and microcirculatory resistance, provocative testing for endothelial dysfunction and coronary vasospasm, and intravascular imaging for identification of myocardial bridging, with hemodynamic assessment as needed.

Comprehensive Management of ANOCA, Part 2-Program Development, Treatment, and Research Initiatives: JACC State-of-the-Art Review.

Centers specializing in coronary function testing are critical to ensure a systematic approach to the diagnosis and treatment of angina with nonobstructive coronary arteries (ANOCA). Management leveraging lifestyle, pharmacology, and device-based therapeutic options for ANOCA can improve angina burden and quality of life in affected patients. Multidisciplinary care teams that can tailor and titrate therapies based on individual patient needs are critical to the success of comprehensive programs. As coronary function testing for ANOCA is more widely adopted, collaborative research initiatives will be fundamental to improve ANOCA care. These efforts will require standardized symptom assessments and data collection, which will propel future large-scale clinical trials.

Hybrid interventional procedures in congenital heart disease.

The evolution of congenital cardiac surgery has seen significant innovative advances in collaborative efforts between congenital cardiac surgeons and interventionalists to provide the least invasive intervention with the greatest hemodynamic benefit for patients with congenital heart disease. This review looks at how this collaborative approach has evolved and is being applied to treat a number of congenital conditions across the age ranges.

Adverse outcomes in hospitalized patients who develop ST-elevation myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: There has been considerable emphasis on the care of patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) with the wide implementation of protocols to quickly identify and triage them from the emergency department (ED) to a cardiac catheterization laboratory for percutaneous coronary intervention. However, a small but important number of patients with STEMI develop ST-elevation while hospitalized for another medical problem. METHODS: A single-center, retrospective chart review was performed on 172 consecutive patients with STEMI who underwent emergency percutaneous coronary intervention. One hundred thirty-seven patients presenting to the ED with STEMI and 35 patients who developed STEMI while hospitalized were compared. RESULTS: Hospitalized patients with STEMI had delayed reperfusion, longer hospitalization, greater rates of stent thrombosis, and greater 30-day and 1-year mortality compared with these in patients presenting with STEMI to the ED. CONCLUSIONS: Optimized clinical pathways for prevention, early diagnosis, and expedited reperfusion of inpatients with STEMI are urgently needed.

How should I treat prosthetic tricuspid stenosis in an extreme surgical risk patient?

BACKGROUND: A 64-year-old female with rheumatic heart disease and multiple prior valve replacements presented with progressive oedema, ascites and dyspnoea on exertion. INVESTIGATION: Physical examination, transthoracic echocardiography, intracardiac echocardiography, transoesophageal echocardiography, right heart cathetherisation, computed tomography. DIAGNOSIS: She had a mitral homograft and Physio ring in the tricuspid position, and presented with severe bioprosthetic tricuspid valve stenosis (mean gradient 16 mmHg) and right-sided heart failure. TREATMENT: A transcatheter 26 mm Edwards SAPIEN valve was placed in the tricuspid position, resulting in near normalisation of tricuspid valve gradient. This represents the first report of a combined valve-in-ring (VIR) and valve in a homograft valve (VIV) SAPIEN implantation.

Perventricular Melody valve implantation in a 12 kg child.

Transcatheter pulmonic valve implantation has emerged as a safe and effective alternative to valve surgery in patients with surgically corrected congenital heart disease. In cases where the transcatheter approach has failed, or was thought to be technically challenging, a hybrid approach to pulmonic valve implantation has been described. This approach involves a small subxyphoid incision made by the cardiac surgeon and implantation of the pulmonic valve through the appropriate delivery sheath through this incision. Here we describe a case of a successful implantation of a Melody valve in a 12 kg child with tetralogy of Fallot. To our knowledge this is the smallest child to have undergone this procedure reported.

The Edwards SAPIEN Transcatheter Heart Valve for Calcific Aortic Stenosis: A Review of the Valve, Procedure, and Current Literature.

The Edwards SAPIEN™ transcatheter heart valve (Edwards Lifesciences LLC, Irvine, CA, USA) is approved by the US Food and drug administration for use in the aortic position in patients with severe aortic stenosis who are not surgical candidates. This approval was backed by data from the Placement of AoRTic TraNscathetER Valve (PARTNER) I clinical trial, which showed the valve to be superior to standard medical therapy in high-risk nonoperative patients in cohort B of the trial. Although insertion of the valve is considered to be very safe, stroke, major vascular complications, and conduction abnormalities are the most frequent procedural complications. A dedicated team of physicians trained in structural cardiac interventions, including two interventional cardiologists, an echocardiographer, and a cardiac surgeon, are involved in every case. Improvements in valve design and streamlining of the delivery system, as well as favorable long-term outcomes, will hopefully pave the way for wider patient use in the future.

A case report of atrial fibrillation potentially induced by hydroxycut: a multicomponent dietary weight loss supplement devoid of sympathomimetic amines.

Multicomponent dietary weight loss supplements comprise the single largest segment of herbal preparations available to the public. As a result of limited de novo regulatory oversight, supplement-related adverse events are underreported secondary to the lack of adequate pharmacodynamic, pharmacokinetic, and clinical data. Here we report the case of an obese 63-year-old caucasian female with a 2-day history of symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) with rapid ventricular response following a 2-week course of therapy with hydroxycut, a multicomponent dietary weight loss supplement devoid of sympathomimetic amines. Upon presentation, the patient received 2 doses of intravenous diltiazem, was loaded with intravenous digoxin, and spontaneously converted to normal sinus rhythm 36 hours following her last dose of the product. Epigallocatechin (EGCG), a principal ingredient in the hydroxycut preparation is the suspected causative component. EGCG blocks the atrial-specific KCNA5 potassium channel. Loss of KCNA5 function has been reported in patients with familial lone AF. Thus, causal relationship between hydroxycut and AF in this patient is probable. Given the serious risks associated with AF, patients at risk of developing AF should avoid dietary supplements containing EGCG until more information on the adverse effects of EGCG is known.

Relative safety of gemfibrozil and fenofibrate in the absence of concomitant cerivastatin use.

Previous analyses of fibrate safety may have been driven by a higher propensity for gemfibrozil to interact with cerivastatin, which is currently off the market because of safety concerns. We reviewed gemfibrozil- and fenofibrate-associated adverse event reports (AERs) submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration over a 5-year period. To control for cerivastatin's impact on fibrate-associated AERs, reports with concomitant cerivastatin use were excluded. Rates per million prescriptions were calculated for all AERs, serious AERs, rhabdomyolysis AERs, muscle-related AERs without rhabdomyolysis, and liver AERs. The rates of all AERs (odds ratio [OR] 0.76, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.69 to 0.83), serious AERs (OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.65 to 0.81), and liver AERs (OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.28 to 0.50) were significantly lower for gemfibrozil compared with fenofibrate (p <0.001 for each). In contrast, rates of rhabdomyolysis AERs (OR 2.67, 95% CI 2.11 to 3.39, p <0.001) and muscle-related AERs without rhabdomyolysis (OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.71, p = 0.002) were significantly higher for gemfibrozil compared with fenofibrate. In conclusion, the safety profiles of fibrates differ, with a higher rate of liver-related AERs associated with fenofibrate and a higher rate of muscle-related AERs associated with gemfibrozil. Rates of all AERs and serious AERs were higher with fenofibrate, but well within the range observed with commonly used lipid-altering medications.